Bengals think Simpson is the answer?

In a chat with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis says that the team doesn’t necessarily need to add a veteran WR, they just need to get Jerome Simpson ready to get out and contribute. Simpson was a second-round pick in 2008 (bad idea to take him over DeSean Jackson?) and hasn’t been able to do jack squat in his first two years.

“We need to have a great offseason in the development of Jerome,” Lewis told the team’s official website. “We have to get Jerome Simpson ready. We have to do a great job of using his skill and athleticism that can help us consistently.”

But Hobson correctly points out to Lewis that Simpson has largely been a bag of buttholes so far in his career (we don’t know that that was his exact wording. But we don’t know that it wasn’t either).

“The third year is the charm for some guys,” Lewis continued. “For some guys it takes a lot longer to figure it out once that ball is snapped. Jerome has made great progress, let’s hope the light comes on and all systems are go.”

Have fun with that one, Marvin. The former Coastal Carolina star has dressed for just eight games in two years and has one catch for two yards. This guy makes Billy McMullen look like William the Conqueror.